1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a package with an outer container of a given volume and an inner container of a lesser volume inserted within the outer container to permit outer containers of a given size to be used for packaging varying volumes of contents without excessive unused volume within the package item that actually holds the packaged product. A closure is removably affixed to an annular finish portion of the outer container to complete a package that is made up of the inner and outer containers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of an inner container in the form of a vial inserted within an outer container in the form of a bottle to reduce the excessive volume of the outer container has heretofore been disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,183 (Cohen et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,602 (Biesecker et al.).
The use of an inner container within an outer container according to the teachings of the aforesaid references pennits packaging of varying volumes of products, such as various medications, without changing the outer container used therefor or the handling equipment used in processing the outer container or filling the inner container, and without compromising available space for labeling the outer container. A problem has arisen, however, in venting the outer container to permit egress of air therein in sufficient volume to permit insertion of the inner container, as the inner container must fit securely within the neck of the outer container to frictionally restrict relative movement between the inner container and the outer container as they proceed through the distribution system.
Another problem encountered with prior art reduced volume containers arises with respect to sealing the rim of the inner container, because such prior art containers have the elevation of the rim of the inner container at, or below, the elevation of the rim of the outer container. This tends to cause the liner of an associated closure to seal against the rim of the outer container rather than the rim of the inner container, which is the important sealing surface in the package because it is the surface of the container that directly contains the packaged product.